A new generation of Australian drugs are under development to help us fight COVID-19.
Vaccination against COVID-19 has the best chance of protecting us against serious disease or death. However, for many of those infected with the virus, effective treatments are urgently needed.
Australian researchers are currently working on various fronts, designing new drugs that will help us fight COVID-19.
Blocking viral function
An international team of researchers, led by Queensland’s Menzies Health Institute, is working on a new drug that targets key genes needed by SARS-CoV-2 to replicate. The drug employs engineered small interfering RNA (si-RNA), which binds to highly conserved regions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, halting viral replication.
So far, animal studies show that this new treatment can reduce viral load in the lungs of animals by more than 90%. If these results translates to humans, clinicians could have a drug that can be injected into sick patients to prevent serious disease, or even to protect people who have been exposed to the virus.
Boosting our immune system
Another Australian group is trying to find a way to block the entrance of the virus into our body. The idea is to create an engineered antibody that can track and bind to the SARS-CoV-2, before it enters any cells in the body.
Researchers from the Garvan and Kirby institutes in New South Wales are creating monoclonal antibodies that mimics the body’s immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The idea behind this approach is that once injected into an infected person, these monoclonal antibodies will bind to the virus and prevent it from invading cells.
Another team of researchers, from Walter and Elizabeth Hall Institute in Melbourne, are also focusing on antibodies. They are designing ‘nanobodies’, which are significantly smaller than human antibodies and are derived from the immune system of alpacas. The nanobodies can block SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering cells, at least in animal models.
Protecting our lungs
Researchers from the Victor Chang Cardiac Institute and St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney are working on a novel stem cell therapy that may prevent serious inflammatory responses that cause severe heart and lung problems in infected patients. Once approved for a clinical trial, the stem cells would be injected to people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and scientists hope the treatment will help normalize the function of the immune system.
A nasal spray against COVID-19
Led by Melbourne-based biotech company Ena Respiratory, this nasal spray aims to trigger a rapid immune response against SARS-CoV-2 in the upper airways. The idea, soon to be tested in clinical trials, is that following treatment with the nasal spray, the immune system will destroy the virus and any infected cells before they lead to serious conditions. The nasal spray, called INNA-051, has so far reduced viral replication by up to 96%, in animal models. Further research, however, is needed to determine if these findings apply to humans.